


Three Plus Two

by Maebee



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Feels, Genderswap, Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy, author has read too much pratchett lately not to be a little wry, based on that one jason todd fanfic which i love to pieces, girl!matt - Freeform, matt honey it's gonna get real, mello comes in eventually i promise, raising baby, shoutout to tierfal for making me love genderswapping, snarky humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-04-17 17:03:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14193579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maebee/pseuds/Maebee
Summary: Matt stared down at the pregnancy test in her hands and slowly slid her back down the wall until she was sitting on the floor of her apartment bathroom. “Well. Fuck.”____Matt's got 99 problems, and here's a new one. Now she's gotta figure out how to help her boyfriend/soul mate/lover/jerk best friend take on Kira (and probably Near because Mello has no chill) while also dealing with the seemingly-endless vomiting ("morning" sickness her ass), smoking withdrawal (because this is the best time to give up that comfort, but she's not an idiot), and actually having to make plans for surviving and raising a tiny human. Near is a nosy bastard, Mello is oblivious, and Matt is 101% done with this entire situation. That's all before she actually has the kid.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ten years, three kids, and hundreds of books/fanfics later, and I still can't give up Death Note. Actually felt pretty confident about this work, so even though I was waiting for something to be finished before I started posting (see also-- my enormous library of WIP in GDocs ohgosh), figured I'd push this one out of the nest and see if it catches anyone else's interest.
> 
> Absolutely sending major kudos to the story After the Storm by ariadne83, somehowunbroken. If you're in the mood for some serious family feels and parenting fluff, and have an inkling of the Batman characters, check it out.

Matt stared down at the pregnancy test in her hands and slowly slid her back down the wall until she was sitting on the floor of her apartment bathroom. “Well. Fuck.”

 

* * *

 

Obviously the first thing was to make an appointment at the local women’s health clinic, so Matt did so on a strange sort of autopilot. Once the phone nurse confirmed that Mindy Hopper had an appointment at the end of the week for a blood test and counseling and hung up, Matt was left alone with her thoughts again. Which was kind of the opposite of what she wanted but okay.

 

_ Nope, very much not okay. _

 

“I could have a baby,” she said out loud. Her pulse, which had calmed to a vague fast pace, spiked with terror again. “I could be a mom,” there was a roaring in her ears, which she hadn’t realized was more than just a silly phrase dramatic writers came up with to make their word count. “I could have an abortion,” and there was the heart drop and wrenching feel. “I could give them up for adoption,” yeah that wasn’t much better than the last reaction.

 

It would be the smart thing to do. Mello had left last month ( _ after she’d finally hunted him down he only stayed for two weeks, that bitch _ )  with only vague confirmation of meeting up, after he made contacts. Which in Mello-speak meant he’d find some organization and quickly and brutally claw his way to the top and only send for her once he was secure enough to ensure her relative safety. It’d probably have to be a criminal organization, as Near had already established himself in L’s law-abiding shoes; and he was too ruthless for petty gangs, so it’d some sort of mafia, probably. He’d have exactly zero time or interest in anything other than catching Kira and bringing him to justice.

 

There was also the fact that Matt was living the life of a nerdy hermit under multiple false identities with no steady job outside of hacking for fun and profit. Also the note where she was an orphan and had no idea of how to raise children (because as awesome as Mr. Whammy had been, even Matt knew that their childhood was hardly typical). Not to mention she was literally waiting for summons to help take out the most dangerous mass murderer/cult leader they’d ever had the misfortune to encounter.

 

_ My body. My choice. _

 

What choice would she make?

 

The idea of giving up a baby who was a mix of her genes and Mello’s ( _ wonderful, fantastic Mello who for all his flaws would always be her number one and it would be amazing if he made it through this Kira ordeal alive, however unlikely _ ) hurt. Mello’s fanatical energy had fully focused on Kira the second Roger broke the news of L and Mr. Whammy’s deaths-- and when Matt had drunk enough to be entirely honest with herself, she could admit that Mel would happily kill himself if it meant avenging his most important people while simultaneously upstaging Near. Part of her also cringed at the idea of leaving said baby to the foster system-- while there were a lot of great people involved, she’d personally encountered entirely too many of the completely awful variety who were involved for the social prestige or money or access to children. It would be a shitty cycle to repeat, especially with no Mr. Whammy to come to the rescue, nowadays.

 

An abortion, while logically the most sensible choice, also pulled at her heart and made tears well up ( _ cool, the emotions are already going nuts _ ). That would very probably be ridding herself of her only tangible reminder of Mello. The only proof that yeah, he’d been a real person and her best friend and maybe he was a little crazy but they all were and he loved her for it. It’d be so much simpler to just get it done and pretend that nothing had happened when they met up again and she eventually died for his cause of giving both Kira and Near the middle finger while never saying a word to him about it. But then there would be Regrets. You can’t go back and fix those situations. Matt lived by the belief that hey, YOLO and all that, make your terrible choices because as long as you’re happy with life and didn’t ruin others it was worth it.

 

Matt was terrible at choosing the sensible and logical choices. There were many reasons why she was Number Three.

 

“I could be a mom,” and this time the terror had a thread of hope.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you guys are so sweet. <3

She was glad that she’d made her decision beforehand, but the counseling was helpful. “We’re primarily here to take care of  _ you, _ ” Tara said, looking over her glasses at Matt and giving her an encouraging smile. “No judgement here, and this is all entirely confidential. We just need to figure out what  _ you _ want, and then the best path to go from there.”

 

“I think I want to keep it?” Matt hesitated. She could be both honest and vague. That was practically a character trait of Whammy Kids. “I mean, I’m pretty sure. It’s gonna involve a lot of life changes, though. Not where I thought my life was going to go, hah.”

 

“And are you sure you want to make these life changes?” Tara asked, still kind but with an intent look on her face. “Not to scare you away, but the reality is that pregnancy is the easiest part of having children, and that’s hard as hell. Then you’ve got them for at least eighteen years-- and that’s assuming they are born healthy and won’t need your care for longer. It could be the most rewarding thing you ever do, should you choose that path, but it definitely means putting your life on hold and accepting that you may never pick it back up the way you intended. Kids are expensive. There are options to help, of course, but it’s still hard work.”

 

“I thought you weren’t trying to scare me one way or another?” Matt said wryly. She crossed her arms and leaned back in the plush chair. “To be frank, it’s terrifying but everything you listed off makes me want to do it  _ more, _ you know? I didn’t have a super great childhood,” she added carefully, “so the chance to make sure  _ my _ kid had an awesome one is a hard one to pass up.”

 

“Do everything your parents never had time for?” Tara suggested with a nod. She hadn't been kidding about this being non-judgmental.

 

_ Well…  _ “Do everything my grandpa always made time for, more like.”

 

After meeting with Tara, she was directed to begin the basic registration as a new patient. Most of it was fabricated but believable-- Mindy Hopper was a perfectly boring chick with average medical history and suspected the pregnancy was a result of a bar meetup turned one-night stand, with no reliable way to get a hold of for health questioning. Honestly answering the intake nurse’s question of “And are you a smoker, Ms. Hopper?” was Matt’s biggest regret of the day. Several pamphlets, horrifying professional studies (complete with the saddest of photos), and a handful of personal anecdotes later, Matt gloomily agreed to quit. Cold-turkey, of course, because that’s what was best for both her health and that of the jelly bean. If she’d known that her morning smoke was the last one she’d get in a long, long while, she would have  _ savored _ it.

 

One of the higher points of the day was getting the ultrasound and hearing the heartbeat. As the midwife poured an excessive amount of gel on her stomach and ran the wand over the area with her little mini-ultrasound machine (“The proper techs actually have a bigger screen and can pick things out, as you’ll get to see later, but when you’re this early on even I can handle making sure everything’s okay!”), Matt was unprepared for the way her heart stuttered at seeing the little sea monkey wiggling around.  _ Holy shit, that’s inside me. I have a person inside me! _

 

“Yup, and in about nine months, it’ll come out and you can hold them!” Midwife Sandy said cheerfully, which is when Matt realized that a) she’d said that last part out loud, and b)  _ oh god it’s gonna have to come out of her in less than a year what the hell have I done.  _ That part she managed to keep contained, and Sandy either missed or ignored the look of horror on Matt’s face as she continued, “Healthy heartbeat, and you’re about five weeks along. Everything looks good so far! Congratulations!”

 

* * *

 

Turns out there’s not much to do with a pregnancy until you’ve made it twelve weeks along, so after dutifully making her next appointment for several weeks later, Matt was headed back to her tiny apartment in a mild daze. The couple ultrasound photos Midwife Sandy had printed were carefully folded and stuck in her vest pocket. 

 

“Alright, I need a grown up plan,” Matt muttered under her breath. She unlocked the apartment door, grabbed her tablet, and locked up behind her. A quick glance at the home screen confirmed it was getting to be lunch time, so she might as well grab something before settling in for a long night of simultaneous gaming and messing with millionaire’s bank accounts.

 

Matt ducked into a cute little restaurant and ordered her favorite, paid, and sat down in a little corner booth to wait. She opened the notepad app, selected the bulletpoint option, and stared at the screen for a moment before starting to type.

 

  * Research month-by-month/trimesters



Hopefully that would brace her for what was to come? After a moment’s thought, she added

  * Create goal list for each month so not scrambling last minute


  * Steady income - budget monthly cost pre/postpartum + cash for doctor visits



That would be laughably easy to skim off of the millions of corrupt rich people, who had zero chance of noticing even if she didn’t easily cover her tracks, but it would be a good idea to know exactly  _ how much _ she needed. Nowadays she’d usually devote a half-day a month to skimming money, nudging incriminating evidence into the light for suitable rewards, and solving what small-time crime  _ could _ be brought to justice from behind a computer screen. A half-day every month probably wouldn’t cut her future expenses, though, and her savings would need bulking up.

  * List of supplies-- registry?



Not that she’d exactly be throwing a baby shower, but it'd be nice to have a list she could personally check off to ensure she had all the necessary supplies versus going into this with only a vague idea and missing something important.

 

She hesitated, then forced herself to actually type it out

  * Tell M



Matt allowed herself a few seconds to stare at that task and wince. That was last on the list for a reason. Hopefully after running through options and finding the best-case scenario she could find a way to break the news in a fashion that would actually result in said best-case--

 

“Number 42! Here you are, miss,” the waiter set down the bowl in front of Matt, a welcome interruption. Second later the smell of truly delicious homemade mac and cheese with bacon, chicken, and hand-shredded cheese hit her nose. Her eyes widened with horror.

 

Remembering to grab the tablet as she scrambled for the bathroom to hurl was automatic-- leave no trace that you were ever there. The little place didn’t even have cameras for her to remotely wipe as a precaution, as far as she could tell, so the only way Matt stuck out amongst the other customers was as the silly young women who stayed in the bathroom throwing up for five minutes before even attempting to venture back to the table. A couple older women patted her on the shoulder consolingly with  _ really annoying _ knowing looks.

 

The only thing she kind of kept down was the damn breadstick.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos and feedback! Every one really does motivate me. :) I have the rest of this outlined, so you know it'll be completed-- it's just a matter of writing in between life and raising a family and working, lol.

Throwing up 4-6 times per 24-hour period became the new norm for Matt. She learned that ‘morning sickness,’ was a giant lie because it would strike at all hours of the day and night, and if she wasn’t careful with what she did or didn’t eat it would  _ definitely _ be all hours every hour. Her diet became a steady stream of fresh fruit (but not oranges or pears because once they come up they won’t go down again), pre-cut veggie trays (but not with the included ranch dressing; only french, and no lettuce or actual salads), chicken sandwiches (not beef burgers), pizza without tomato-based sauce, and wheat thins (not saltines even though Google said that was best for an unpredictable stomach). She was also regulated to mostly water, because carbonation and most juice and milk were apparently also on the Nope List.

 

Apparently this all disappeared literally the second the baby left you, so in the darker moments Matt grimly wrote out ideal “first meals.” So far it was going to be a gorgeous, unhealthy banquet.

 

Cigarette withdrawal was a bitch as well and managed to add to the nausea at random moments. The intense cravings themselves she could handle-- Whammy Kids were well-trained in resisting, and her pre-Whammy experiences of “not gonna get what you want,” helped.  The aches and chills sucked and there wasn’t much she could do about them but curl up in a big fluffy blanket with her laptop and shiver. Luckily it only lasted a little over a week, all told, and Matt had to grudgingly admit that she felt overall better without them. The comfort was sorely missed, though.

 

There was no way her tiny apartment was going to hold everything she was starting to realize a baby would need, and she had a funny feeling that ol’ New York wasn’t going to be the scene of much more action for a while, so Matt did some digging and made some calls before settling on a sweet little starter home in Hiroo, Japan, one of Tokyo’s suburbs. Only a ten minute drive to the doctor’s office, relatively safe neighborhood (though of course she planned on making it safe enough for any paranoid Whammy Kid to feel comfortable in), three decent-sized bedrooms and two baths, a nice kitchen and living-room area, and altogether a completely and totally average house for a nondescript young women interested in settling down for a while.

 

The lack of reason should have been warning enough for Matt to expect the sleek black SUV that pulled up her driveway (neatly skirting her beloved car) two days after she’d landed and retrieved her relatively sparse belongings. Matt glanced down at herself and grimaced. “We should probably have this conversation, but today is not that day.” She muttered. Despite the sweat from actually doing manual labor and moving shit, not to mention the random hot flashes, she slipped into her bedroom and dug in a box until she unearthed a baggy hoodie. She pulled it on before stumbling out into the living room, where Near and his entourage had already let themselves in.

 

“One of these days you’re gonna walk in on me naked. Again,” she pointed out with an eyeroll. His entourage looked startled, and it didn’t help when Matt added, “Which means Mel will gladly punch you to avenge my honor. And y’know, in general. Multiple times.”

 

“Noted,” Near replied, just as dry. His hair was longer and curlier than when she’d last seen him after leaving Whammy’s, though she suspected it was partially due to his own habit of curling fingers in his hair. He was also a little taller, able to actually look her shorter self in the eye without straightening to his full height. 

 

“So why did this warrant an in-person visit versus a phone call or text?”

 

“You’ve made some very  _ odd _ changes lately. I would like information on those as well as M’s current situation,” Near said with characteristic bluntness. The one women who’d accompanied him looked pained at the lack of dancing around the aim of their visit.

 

Matt crossed her arms and frowned. “You’re not L yet, bucko. You aren’t entitled to a rundown of every day of my personal life, so thanks for  _ stopping that right now, _ ” she growled. She didn’t have nearly as many problems with Near as Mello did, and was actually fond of him as the strangely loveable brother from their childhood, but hell if she’d agree to be under his radar by choice. You just didn’t  _ do _ that, unless you were L, and even then it was as hands-off as possible. “If you meant to say ‘why the hell did you buy a goddamn house in this Kira-obsessed country when that’s not something paranoid failed detectives  _ do _ ,’” and the entourage was making the  _ greatest _ faces as Matt continued, “I’m actually not due to be on-call for a while, and my shitty apartment is not somewhere I wanted to spend that time. I actually enjoy comfort and thought I’d treat myself while I wait, crazy enough. Already started booby-trapping, though I still need a copy of your fingerprints to add you to the ‘don’t vaporize,’ protocol on the door.”

 

Near raised a white eyebrow and inclined his head, which in Near-speak meant a practical agreement to send her the info when he left and she wouldn’t even have to trick him into leaving fingerprints on things. That counted as a minor victory.

 

“As that implies, Mello isn’t here and doesn’t plan to be for an extended period of time. Haven’t had contact with him for a while so, y’know, not the most up-to-date knowledge,” this was a tiny bit of a lie-- she’d texted  _ Hey, hopped the pond and chillin’ like a villain in my new lair muahahaha. _ And Mel had actually replied. Granted, a simple  _ Good. Making progress. Not ready yet. _ Didn’t tell her a whole  _ lot _ , but assumedly it was good news.

 

“The Japanese police have heard nothing of him. The... less savory, more  _ organized _ groups have rumors, however,” Near said pointedly.

 

Matt blinked innocently. “Really? Huh. I guess when he eventually decides to tell me  _ of his own free will _ , it’s gonna be a helluva story, isn’t it? Seeing as how I trust him and all, it could be a while before I have any info, though.”

 

Near sighed and signaled to his group to file back outside, “If either of you wish for my help or want to offer yours, it would be easier to solve this together. I wouldn’t have to use survalliance if you two would just  _ tell _ me things.”

 

“Yeah, but why do it the easy way when we can put ourselves through hell, first?” Matt teased. Impulsively she walked over and gave him her best bear hug. The entire entourage nearly (hah) had a heart attack at their boss being treated like an actual human being. Matt did her best to ignore them and whispered in a tone only Near could hear, “Seriously, be careful, bro.”

 

Near stiffly inclined his head and left with his gaping professional fanclub.

 

Matt waited until the shiny black SUV was several car-lengths down the road before releasing a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. “Near reassured-slash-rebuffed;” she ticked off on her fingers, “Mel protected; and you--” she poked at the bump under the hoodie, “-- kept secret. I need a damn drink. Lots of drinks. That’s going on the list.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooooooo boy. Now that I don't have three sick kids+a sick and INJURED husband (he survived it's okay)+a sick me+five work days in a row to worry about... on with the show! Thank you all so so much for the kudos and encouraging comments! Some people actually bookmarked it! Aaaaah!

Regardless of Near’s implied agreement to back off surveillance, Matt still donned an easy disguise-- in the form of a long black wig, makeup, and some semi-formal maternity clothes she’d snagged at Old Navy and brought with her--- before leaving for her appointments. Yuuko Nakamura was presented with a cute keychain in the shape of a heart, and a cartoon mother and baby drawn on it, at her first appointment, with instructions to present it as needed for the best seats and to skip lines where possible. She also got her Maternal and Child Health Handbook, which was right up there with the American social security cards in terms of importance, apparently. After confirming that yup, everything was consistently okay with Ms. Nakamura’s records from a tiny clinic in a town on Shikoku, her appointments became fairly routine.

 

It was getting a lot harder to hide in casual, oversized clothes, no matter if she were Yuuko or Matt. The Sea Monkey was getting huge and apparently interested in testing the limits of their new surroundings, and Matt had to admit it was awesome to watch a tiny hand or foot suddenly attempt karate. It was less awesome when they kicked her in the bladder, though.

 

In mid-July, a few days before the big 4D ultrasound that would hopefully discover the gender so Matt could get on thinking of a name, her phone rang. Not taking her eyes off the screen to ensure her katamari didn’t accidentally roll up a bear before it was appropriately huge to impress the King of Cosmos, she hit the PS3’s pause button and answered the call in the same fluid movement. It was her fourth try and she’d be damned if distraction caused another toy bear or cow put a stop to this one as well. “Hulk’s deli-- you order, we smash.”

 

The caller snorted. “Classy.”

 

“I am nothing  _ but _ class, thank you,” Matt said primly, straightening up nonetheless. “Where’s Peach?”

 

“Probably boning Luigi,” Mello replied, and Matt could almost hear the dramatic eye roll that accompanied the all-clear phrase. If he’d answered with “in another castle,” then it was an unsecured line, and “With Donkey Kong,” meant trouble, help. They’d made up a dozen phrases and codes along those childish lines just to spite the silly nonsense the detectives used in books or on the telly.

 

“Sleeping with the hero’s brother? That bitch.” Matt carefully hauled herself up and off the couch and headed for the lovely, cozy desk chair in front of her laptop. “Whatchu got for me?”

 

“Light Yagami,” Mello said the name deliberately, “has hidden information on his family, friends, and personal history behind L’s old walls. See if you can knock ‘em down.”

 

“No probs,” and really it wasn’t, particularly when the very mentor who’d trained you on hacking had been too busy being dead to update his familiar digital protections properly. As she got to work, fingers flying on the keyboard, she continued chatting idly. “I’m settled in fine, by the way. N stopped by a while back to see what the hell I was doing, so you might want to, I don’t know, communicate with him? The flight over here was annoyingly long but the attendants were nice. Pretty quiet neighborhood, neighbors very bland and keep to themselves which is  _ great _ but boring. Did I tell you I got a house? Not just an apartment this time. I’m not sure still if I should like put effort into it or make it the most garish place for shits and giggles. It’s cute right now though, you should come see. Just tell me so I’m home because sometimes I venture out to see if my skin will actually burn in the sunlight.”

 

Mello had, as expected, stuck on the first half of her ramble. “What did you tell him?”

 

“Only that you never call anymore and I’m never sure if you’re actually eating or just subsisting off of chocolate--” Matt paused and gave a low whistle. “So, um, Yagami, huh? He’s… wow. So great on paper that something  _ has _ to be off. Went to work at the NPA with daddy, was summoned abruptly for the Task Force for his brilliance, cleared of suspicion multiple times and from the looks of it the primary L impersonator... He’s Kira, isn’t he?”

 

Mello snarled, and that was enough confirmation for the sinking feeling in Matt’s chest. “He’s got some pretty powerful people around him at all times,” she observed. “All of his little group of coworkers-slash-idealistically unknowing minions have basic firearms training and are higher-ups. You’re gonna be hard-pressed to find him going anywhere without witnesses, at the very least.”

 

“He’s had over five years to become complacent,” Mello says grimly. “That’s going to end soon.”

 

“Like how soon are we talking? I don’t think you can just go up to him tomorrow and put a bullet in his head.” She pointed out reasonably. Her voice probably didn’t betray much of the all-too familiar Mello’s Gonna Do Something That May Have Horrible Consequences anxiety that was creeping up.

 

“Not quite yet. While that would be nice, for all the shit he did? Everyone needs to see what a monster he is; all his crimes dragged out into the light. And that’ll take a little bit of arranging. Send me every scrap of data regarding him and his interactions with his team and family, to the usual address. I’ve got some ideas.”

 

Matt nodded, even knowing Mello couldn’t see it, and did just that. “Any way I can help, just let me know. Don’t--” she hesitated, “--don’t go bein’ a twat now, alright?”

 

“Wouldn’t give you the satisfaction,” was the warm, if wry, reply, and then the line went dead.

  
  


She sifted through the information herself, paying special attention to the information that had been clearly edited out (ohoho, looks like this fake-L didn’t know it saved each version of a file on a seperate server from the live, and she could see details for every edit made). Then she sent Mel a text, saying only  _ kinky chain!!!!!!!!!  _ And including no mention of the vigorously squirming Sea Monkey.

 

* * *

 

 

“What the hell are you doing here,” Matt said flatly, in English, to the blonde female member of Near’s retinue. For some mysterious reason, she was hanging around outside of Yuuko’s doctor’s office, in casual wear, and had straightened up the second her eyes landed on the disguised Matt. They weren’t  _ totally _ wet-behind-the-ears, then.

 

“I thought you’d appreciate the company,” the woman said.

 

Matt crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. Yuuko preferred cute maternity dresses but even in the summer Japanese women were urged to keep their stomachs warm as a cultural matter, so a light jacket was tied just under her boobs and hung over the now-obvious Sea Monkey. Part of her mind was coming up with ways to get the heck out of Dodge  _ now _ , pulling as much information out of this lady as possible for Mello’s sake, how Near would react, and weighing the pros and cons of each. “The company of a total stranger?”

 

“Not  _ total. _ We have some shared interests,” the woman said calmly. She smiled slightly. “You can call me Halle. We’ve all taken on certain identities while working this, and decided it would be best to be in character at all times. Before you start panicking-”  _ too late _ ! “-my boss doesn’t know I’m here, and I’m not bugged. As far as he knows I’m not feeling too well myself and decided to have a wellness checkup.”

 

“Huh.” Matt drummed her fingers against her arm, and glanced at Yuuko’s watch. “Not totally satisfied at all and have hella questions, but I’ve also got five minutes to check in, so we’ll multitask. Come on.”

 

The receptionist whisked Ms. Nakamura and her ‘former  _ sempai’ _ straight to a dark room and promised the tech would be joining them in a few minutes, so Matt started there. “How did you know and what does  _ he _ know?” She demanded, still in English.

 

Halle gave her a more genuine smile. “My sister works at a women’s health clinic in America. She’s talked a lot about the length women will go to conceal a pregnancy-- usually complaining about the state of the world because it means they don’t feel safe being public about it. I was usually the one assigned to you on behalf of our friend-- who hasn’t asked me or my colleagues to do anything like that since, by the way-- because of my considerable bodyguard experience, and noticed a few small things. Your regularity in scheduling appointments and the spacing thereof is the only thing that tipped me off for today-- I’d been loitering in the area for an hour before I actually saw you. I thought I’d offer some sort of support, as there were no medical records for me to consult.”

 

“I should  _ hope _ not,” Matt huffed. She’d wiped the system free of every trace of Mindy Hopper shortly after her last appointment there. “You’d be breaking all  _ kinds _ of HIPAA codes, which is totally the worst that you’re gonna see in this field.”

 

Halle snorted. “Absolutely,” she said, just as dry. “Our friend has no idea, though I can’t say for absolute certain considering his admittedly terrifying intellect. He’s not the  _ best _ at woman’s health, though, considering the look on his face when I asked for the time off to come here.”

 

“Aw, man, that must’ve been  _ great! _ ” Matt lamented. “He’s not a people-person. That’s okay, though-- it’s why he’s supposed to have people like you. And prior bodyguard? Good. He needs that, because he is the opposite of a badass ninja, frankly.”

 

Halle chuckled. “True.”

 

Before she could say any more, they were interrupted by an older woman knocking and peeking in. “Hello! Nakamura-san, I’ll be your ultrasound tech. Don’t worry, we’ll take lots of pictures! While we’re primarily checking for healthiness, do you want to know the baby’s gender?”

 

“Yes please,” Matt said promptly, switching back to Yuuko’s flawlessly native Japanese and adding some genuine eagerness to her tone. Halle snuck her an amused look at the personality switch. Matt ignored her. Some part of her realized that this was going to happen more often in the future.

 

“Alright! Let’s get started!”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness, thank you all for your lovely comments and kudos! Things have been pretty nutty but I've been working on this in spurts and finally found a decent stopping point. :) Thank you so much!!!!

“Do you have a name picked out?” Halle asked her one day. She made a point to appear every couple weeks, usually after one of Matt’s appointments, and check in. They usually ended up walking through one of the city’s many shopping districts and chatting about anything that wasn’t work-related. Matt was concerned she may have accidentally made a friend.

 

“Not as such. I call her Sea Monkey for now,” Matt shrugged. She held up a tiny watermelon-themed dress and shook her head. “0-3 months?”

 

“That’ll last about ten minutes before it’s soiled in some way,” Halle advised. Matt shook her head and wandered to the next clothing rack.

 

“Do you think they have those neat swaddle things here, or--”

 

“I believe those are already included in the order being delivered to your house this week.” A familiar voice observed thoughtfully. “There’s quite a lot, so make sure Halle is there to help you bring them in.”

 

Matt came _this_ close to screaming. It was only years of iron control and Whammy training that allowed her to limit it to whirling around and hissing at the young man standing right behind her. “ _Near._ _No._ Bad. No cookie for you.”

 

“Congratulations, by the way.” Near said, with that hint of smugness in his voice from surprising her. He was mostly alone-- the male members of his bodyguard team had remained at the entrance of the store and, after a polite nod to Halle, turned their backs for some semblance of privacy.

 

“Thank you?! I thought we said no more spying?! When did you find out?” She couldn’t help sending Halle a betrayed look, but the woman was shaking her head.

 

“I worked it out after our last visit. Your sweatshirt wasn’t as effective when you were in close-contact.”

 

“You mean when I _hugged_ you? It’s okay, you can say it.” Matt snarked, trying to regain her equilibrium. She sighed. “Damn. Rookie mistake.”

 

“To be fair, I can imagine that you were in shock. Halle did have an acceptably believable cover story of befriending a Japanese woman while taking a personal day for medical reasons, but the timing was questionable, so I did some investigating while she was out. Is it his?” There was no mistaking who Near was referencing.

 

“Yep.”

 

“And he doesn’t know.” That wasn’t a question, but there was a considerable amount of amusement showing on Near’s normally mostly emotionless face. It was all in the white eyebrows. “Please send me the recording when you do tell him.” There were actually hints of glee in his voice, wow.

 

“The schadenfreude is strong in this one, _Uncle N_ ,” Matt said affectionately. She reached over and ruffled his stupidly fluffy white hair while the amusement on his face morphed to horror at her implication that he’d interact with a baby and have _feelings_ about said baby. It was fantastic.

 

* * *

 

 

It wasn’t all fun, but Matt treasured the moments as they came. Between the random nausea that still reared its ugly and messy head at the strangest of times, she went out for fun summer Japanese treats with Halle. When her entire body ached in new and interesting ways, they went to the spa. Near’s packages arrived and Matt found herself actually excited to put away everything and get it just perfect. Her kid was going to have the _best of the best,_ right from the start.

 

She couldn’t always escape the blond, leather-clad shadow in the back of her mind, however. At least once per week she’d find herself laying in her obscenely comfy bed but tragically unable to sleep, instead staring at the ceiling and dreading everything about telling Mello. You couldn’t just not tell a guy he was a dad now, especially if they were your BFF from childhood and you both had many many _issues_ regarding orphans and kids and parents. The nonstop, low level anxiety was totally justified if you’d ever so much as encountered Mello, much less seen him on the warpath when Near scraped by a win on a test as children.

 

Matt thought about the full force of Mello’s temper. She thought about that fury directed at her. Then she’d get up and forcibly lose herself in another playthrough of Suikoden II, because _fuck_.

 

* * *

 

Matt was putting her feet up. They were swollen. In the early October heat that refused to just _cool down already_ , this was a frequent occurrence. Central air was a blessing, but her body still managed to register that it was hot outside even if she hadn’t left the lovely chill of her house.

 

The phone rang, and after a moment of searching in the fantastically deep pockets of the maternity jeans, she answered. “Hello, this is the Office of Wrong Numbers. It seems you have dialed the wrong number. If you have dialed the wrong number, please press one now. If you have not, please stay on the line."  


She could hear the eyeroll, so it must be Mello. The muffled sound of a candy wrapper in the background was also a giveaway, though. “Finish up and come to LA in two days. Shit’s going down and I’d rather have you on-site versus across the ocean if it all goes to hell. Which, well, it _shouldn’t_ , but all outcomes planned for, etcetera.”

 

Matt stared down at the now-enormous Sea Monkey, enthusiastically performing a crane kick in her limited space. She could almost make out the toes. “Okay,” she said, holding her voice admirably steady considering the circumstances. “Where do you want to meet?”

 

“Schedule is tight, so probably not for a couple weeks.” Yep, he was eating chocolate while _on the phone_ , because that was Mello for you. Matt let out a breath she was fully aware of holding.

 

“Wow, it’s like you don’t even _want_ to spend time with me. Here I was looking forward to seeing your swanky secret lair and everything.” She mock-complained. Mello snorted. “Dare I ask why LA, though?”

 

“I’ve got people there, and it’s far enough out of NPA’s comfort zone to give me an advantage there. The White Bastard may or may not interfere, but at least the bugs will be on my terms.”

 

“You suspicious man, you,” Matt stood up, wincing a little at the redistribution of baby-weight onto her lower back, and started looking up flights. “I don’t even have to bump anybody, sweet. You got a place set up for me or am I doing this from a seedy hotel room?”

 

“I’ll text you the address. Most of it I was already using in my downtime, so it’ll all be set up. You just need to pull the strings from backstage.”

 

“No probs. TTFN.”

 

* * *

Of course Mello neglected to mention that the shit going down was the kidnapping of Yagami-slash-Kira’s younger sister. Nor did he so much as hint that he’d be trading said sister for the death-bringing notebook that was at the center of all this drama. Halle texted some colorful Opinions on this whole situation, which did give Matt something to giggle at during the tense couple days.

 

* * *

 

“ _Are you actually completely suicidal._ ”

 

Over the discreet ear piece’s channel, Matt heard the motorcycle engine rev. “I think you meant to ask if I’m actually completely brilliant. Which the answer is, of course, yes.” Mello replied smugly.

 

“ _Oh my god what the fuck,_ ” Matt said with so many emotions in her voice, slumping down in the crappy armchair. At least she was no longer on the very edge of it while waiting to see if Mello _actually pulled this off holy shit_ , but that barely made it more comfortable. “Neylon has technical ownership of the killer notebook, right?”

 

“Death Note, and yes. So I’ll let him think he’s playing with it for a week or two and then arrange something and take ownership myself, taking care of that loose thread, and there may be something in the notebook itself to tie Yagami to this. From there--”

 

Matt partially tuned out at this point, because a victorious Mello could monologue for hours about how awesome he was, how much Near sucked by comparison, etc etc etc, and absentmindedly filed the information on future plans away for later reference in case of ‘what on earth is Mello doing now.’ “Where’re you headed?”

 

“To see you,” Mello said cheerfully, adding with a wicked smirk she could hear, “hopefully naked.”

 

Matt took a deep breath. While naked time plus Mello was always something she’d been up for, the current results of said naked time with Mello was probably going to take naked time with Mello to a lower point on the priority list, “Cool beans. See you in a minute.”

 

It was about a twenty minute drive from the mafia hideout to Matt’s hideout, which gave her time to do some antsy tidying-up. She’d never really cared about being domestic up until about eight and a half months ago but, y’know, hormones. Making sure that cords were wound and neatly out of the way and her video games were back in their cases off the floor was a decent way to keep her mind off of the fact that holy shit it was time to see if all that practicing a monologue of her own in the mirror had paid off. Once the tiny apartment was as sparkling as it was probably ever going to be, she gave in and sat down on the significantly-more-comfortable-than-the-crappy-armchair couch and worried.

 

There were so many ways this could go wrong.

 

Mello wasn’t the most stable of people in the _good_ times, Matt would be the first to admit that, and it hadn’t really been good times since L was murdered. She vividly remembered their adoptive big brother taking her aside several years before and pointing out that his top three students would have to balance each other out, and that she would be a vital part of that. “Mello is very intense, and Near is very quiet, but with you to keep them together, Matt, you’ll be _great._ ” He’d said it with such earnest truth in his chronically-exhausted eyes that Matt believed him. Up until he died and the boys took off in different directions, anyway.

 

And then Mello didn’t even have the decency to knock, and just let himself in.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally couldn't sleep last night until this story was finished. Thank you all for reading! Hopefully you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)

The door shut and locked. Mello’s hands landed on her shoulders and a warm kiss was pressed to the top of her head. “Hey there, gorgeous. I’m all yours for the next--

 

“...  _ what. _ ”

 

Matt steeled herself and tugged on his arms, dragging Mello over the top of the couch to land on the cushion next to her. His wide eyes hadn’t left her stomach. All prepared speeches and statements flew out of her head entirely at his stunned look, so she did what she did best: bullshit. “Oh hey! Long time no see, huh? Like, eight and a half months of no-seeing, but things are going just fine amirite. Got the Death Notebook, making progress on that epic plan to take down Kira and bring evil to justice, but I was thinking maybe we could figure out some way to, y’know, live?”

 

Mello hadn’t stopped staring. The bullshitting continued.

 

“Because grand as it would be to probably die in the line of duty and I know how keen you are on the Catholic martyrs, I’d really like to break the cycle right about now and be a kickass parent. It’s a girl, by the way, so what are your favorite lady Catholic saints? Still keen on Kateri or Catherine? Personally I picked out the name ‘Rose’ so I thought Kateri Rose or Rose Kateri had a nice ring to it, but if you’ve switched faves just let me know. Most of my stuff is back at the base in Japan. Near contributed, and he’s got this minion who might be my friend, Halle, who is also a kickass lady and really fun. You’ll get along like a house on fire.”

 

“It’s  _ his? _ ” Oh good, Mello had finally found his voice. Unfortunate that he’d used it to say something really dumb.

 

“A) he’s practically my brother, b) I’m pretty sure he’s ace, c) you colossal moron you’re the only one I’ve  _ ever _ been with, and that ‘been with’ includes  _ everything. _ ” Matt said serenely. Mello was very pale. “Congratulations. You can panic for a while, but then I’m gonna need a decision regarding how you want to do this. I got to panic for several months, so it’s only fair.”

 

“How I want to--? Hang on, fuck-- hold up.” Mello settled more comfortably into the couch, took a deep breath, and crossed his arms. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?!”

 

“It’s not really something I can just text you, unless you wanted the baby bump photos that are all the rage. We’ve been kind of busy with the whole Kira thing, too. So I--”

 

“Just conveniently  _ forgot _ to tell me?! Fucking  _ avoided _ it for almost-- shit, almost the  _ whole time _ ?” Mello ran a hand through his hair agitatedly. “That was pretty shitty, but almost excusable. Unlike the next part. How I want to do this is probably up to you,  _ logistically _ \--”

 

Matt lightly punched him in the arm. “Don’t remind me.”

 

“--But if you were referring to the age-old ‘does he stay or does he go,’ toss-up, pretty sure the pregnancy brain has kicked in.” Mello hesitantly threw an arm around her shoulders and drew her in until their foreheads touched. Matt’s breath caught. “Damn, girl, give a guy a minute to  _ process _ at least. If this is what you want-- although fair enough it’s difficult to really go  _ back _ now-- then I’m in it. I’m  _ always _ in it 120%, remember?”

 

Matt chuckled, ignoring the tears of relief that had sprung up. Stupid pregnancy hormones. “This is gonna be more than just a test, Mel. We’re not kids anymore.”

 

“No, but we’re gonna have one.” Mello winced at saying it aloud. “You couldn’t have picked someone who knows what the hell they’re  _ doing _ ?”

 

“Mel, I picked you a long time ago,” Matt said affectionately, adding in a “jerk,” as an afterthought so he didn’t get too out of line. “And after the shitty examples we had, that just means we have a good idea of what  _ not _ to do. We’ll be better.”

 

“Hell yeah we’ll be better. She’s gonna have the best childhood in the history of humanity. They’re gonna want to write books about how idyllic her childhood will be.” A slow grin crept over Mello’s face, and his eyes didn’t waver from hers. “We got this, Matty.”

 

* * *

 

At 38 weeks, you were supposed to have packed your bags at least eight weeks ago. Matt was nothing if not a procrastinator, however, especially when she had a perfectly fine hospital-ready bag back at her cute little house in Japan. Given Mello’s simultaneous hovering and distracted air, plus the fact that he’d not so much as mentioned heading back across the ocean since she arrived a few weeks ago, it was time to face the fact that she’d probably have the Sea Monkey here.

 

A couple one-piece pajama outfits for Sea Monkey, and several pairs of pajamas for  _ her _ were in the main compartment of the duffle bag, covering an assortment of things like pacifiers, lanolin, the tiniest socks and hats possible, snacks(you couldn’t trust the hospital vending machines to have Mello’s favorite imported chocolate), and a receiving blanket. Wrapped and hidden carefully in a concealed pocket were new IDs and other useful feigned paperwork, like a cash card with the same name so she wouldn’t have to leave anything like a paper trail with insurance companies.

 

Matt was trying to figure out how to fit the stuffed duffel bag into the new infant carseat she’d picked up, and idly wondering if she could maybe fit one more ridiculously-soft blanket on top as a cover, when Mello decided to blow up his hideout.

 

The explosion echoed for several miles, and Matt took one look at the location of the gigantic smoke cloud before practically flying out of the apartment. In hindsight, she couldn’t remember actually driving  _ to _ the site, and could have Apparated herself and her car for all she knew.

 

Bless the complete overwhelm of some emergency services, particularly in this area, as Matt made it there long before the sirens were anywhere close. Finding Mello was easy-- you just had to look toward the  _ fucking middle _ of the destruction, as ever. Matt pulled her shirt over her nose to try to ease her breathing-- this was not the time for passing out from smoke inhalation. It was almost the time to pass out when she saw the sheer destruction wreaked on Mello’s body as she dragged him out of the rubble and into the backseat of her car, bloodstains be damned, but not yet. She wasn’t motivated enough to be the smart one, but impending parenthood had gone a long way toward making her the  _ sensible _ one. (Mello, evidently, hadn’t been hit by that quite yet.)

 

Thankfully, she got Mello up the single flight of stairs to the apartment through sheer force of will, and without waking anyone. Matt carefully arranged him on the couch, made sure he was still breathing, and flew back out. This time down the street to the pharmacy, where she bought up all manner of gauze, antiseptic, burn ointment, and anything else that might come in handy. Being loaded down with several plastic bags and returning to the apartment was actually louder than maneuvering an adult male inside.

 

Matt filled her biggest bowl with cold water, dragged all of the plastic bags over to Mello, and perched on the sturdy coffee table to survey the damage.

 

It was bad.

 

First she stripped him of the leather pants, which mostly hid bruises that would hurt like hell later. Then she worked her way up-- having to cut away the vest and cringing when it took skin with it. Then she trimmed the hair near his face, which had been caught in the half-melting of said face. Once his injuries were clear, Matt began carefully washing off the excess blood and cleaning the wounds, smearing all sort of aloe vera and antibiotic ointment on before it could resume bleeding too much, and wrapping the area with heavy gauze. She methodically continued until he was almost half-mummified and her hands were stained with blood. Mello didn’t so much as twitch, only continuing his labored breathing. 

 

“Oh,  _ Mihael, _ ” Matt finally whispered, gently touching the top of his hair. It was nowhere near the neat cut he’d been so fond of, especially after her impromptu work. Matt’s eyes started to burn, and she swallowed a curse. “ _ Not _ the time yet. Still got more to do. Then we can break down.”

 

Chastising herself aloud worked. She tidied up her supplies, leaving only gauze, the aloe vera and antibiotic ointment, and a cool damp washcloth on the table. The scissors were sterilized again, the bloody washcloths (thank god she’d got several packages) thrown out, the bowl scrubbed with Dawn and set well apart from any dishes that would ever touch food, the bloody trail they’d left sopped up and the stain mostly gone (they probably weren’t getting any deposit back on this place anyway), and all of Mello’s destroyed clothing tossed and triple-bagged in the trash.

 

Once that was done, she checked on Mello (he was starting to bleed through some of the gauze, so she’d have to change it again soon, but he was still breathing and maybe it was slightly less raspy?), went into the little bedroom and closed the door, sat on the bed, and burst into tears.

 

* * *

 

 

“You should’ve let me die,” are the first words Mello managed, his voice rough almost a week after the explosion.

 

Matt glanced up from where she was smearing yet more aloe vera against his neck, and met his visible eye with a calm she did not feel. “I actually want our kid to grow up with both parents, since Whammy’s not around to rescue anyone.” She returned mildly. Mello fell silent.

 

Matt unrolled more gauze.

 

* * *

 

 

Ten days after the explosion, Matt was tiredly wrestling herself into an oversized sleeping shirt when Mello tugged it over her head and wrapped his arms around her. His hold was tight under her admittedly huge stomach, and she carefully returned it, minding his general all-over pain. They stood there for a moment.

 

“Did you take the cocktail for tonight?” Matt asked quietly, referencing the colorful amount and variety of medicines she’d procured and regularly pushed at him. She felt him nod against her shoulder. “Then sleep with me. Apology accepted.”

 

* * *

 

Mello was better. He was mobile, though it still clearly hurt, and stopped bleeding entirely. It was going to scar like hell, but he was  _ alive. _ That was a huge, huge weight off Matt’s mind, and she actually relaxed. The morning after they finally slept in the same bed again, Mello took control of one of Matt’s laptops and began planning. When he wasn’t presumably planning how to take down Kira and get revenge on Near for helping take Mello down, said blond slept. A lot.

 

It was while he slept that Matt decided to do her own plotting. It started curled up in bed, but eventually the braxton-hicks contractions and general antsy feeling pushed her out and set her to pacing. She crossed the length of the room and frowned.

 

_ Bringing Kira to justice is important, but just  _ how _ important is the ‘justice’ part? There’s so many Kira sympethizers now-- even if he were caught, he’d be convicted by no system. The people closest to him are the ones who need it revealed that the prettyboy isn’t the perfect leader they think he is, but based on L’s files they won’t accept the evidence unless he admits it outright. _

 

She paused, cringing as another wave of practice contraction washed over her, and breathed out before resuming pacing.

 

_ He’s not going to admit he’s at fault unless he’s in a position where he’s just won something, and is alone without witnesses. If we can make him think he’s alone-- but what’s his usual schedule? I need to see if Mello has anyone watching them-- _

 

“Damn, Sea Monkey. Lighten up,” Matt muttered, actually clenching her teeth in pain.

 

_ We can’t have them on our backs with a tiny human in tow, so we’ll need to disappear for a while? What’s the most anti-Kira country right now? I’m sure Buzzfeed has a list. Near is definitely on probation for prioritizing justice over helping Mello, so we have to keep him busy in Japan for a while. Halle isn’t so bad, but she’s pretty anti-Kira so as long as he gets some kind of epic comeuppance I’m pretty sure she’ll be-- _

 

“Holy  _ fuck _ ,” Matt swore, bending double over her stomach and trying to stop her legs from trembling. It was like lightning was stretching across her stomach and around her back. The second she touched her stomach she actually whimpered-- it was hard and everything  _ hurt. _ After a few more seconds, or an hour (hard to tell), the agony mostly faded. She staggered upright and blinked, leaning against the doorframe.

 

“You…. you have great timing,” she managed, catching sight of the calendar. She was almost a week past due, wasn’t she? Matt had been so caught up in making sure Mello  _ survived and didn’t kill himself due to sheer stupidity _ that she hadn’t even noticed the date coming and going. And now that he was definitely gonna be alive for the forseeable future, without needing her help, that relaxation must have triggered something to Sea Monkey that said ‘everything’s cool, come on out.’

 

Mello was still completely out when Matt stumbled over to the door, determinedly clutching the carseat with her duffle bag shoved inside. She paused, let a contraction-that-was-actually-doing-things pass, scribbled a note for Mello when he woke up, and left to catch a cab.

 

* * *

 

 

Fun fact: many cultures, including the Japanese (where Matt originally planned for this to happen), felt that any pain medication got in the way of mother-baby bonding.

 

Matt’s epidural was her  _ best friend. _

 

So it all worked out.

 

* * *

 

“Where were you?!” Mello demanded, flinging open the door a few days later. Standing  _ and _ angry-- nice progress on the recovery, Matt noted.

 

However, it was an inconvenient time. “Shh!” She scolded. Mello opened his mouth to continue the tirade he was ramping up, when he saw what--or rather  _ who _ \-- she was gesturing to.

 

Kateri Rose Keehl slept on, heedless of her father’s stunned stare. To be fair, she was in super snuggly pink pajamas and had a ridiculously soft plush blanket tucked around her to keep her stable in her car seat. Matt really wished she were sleeping, too, but that would come soon. Hopefully.

 

“...  _ Without me? _ ”

 

“Yes,” Matt deadpanned, carefully stepping in to the apartment and gently setting the carseat down before she less-carefully deposited the duffle bag on the floor and flopped down on the couch. “Because nothing gets a lady through childbirth quite like her best friend being apprehended for all kinds of crimes because someone spotted him at the hospital, but I decided an epidural was a decent second.”

 

Mello crouched on the floor in front of the seat, staring at  _ their _ sleeping daughter and looking lost. From Matt’s position, he bore a striking resemblance to their adoptive former big brother.

 

“She’s healthy. I’m fine. Discharged properly and everything. She’s got our real names on the certificate, ‘cause nobody knows us but she’s  _ ours _ and fuck if I’m gonna deny that. Takes a bottle like a champ but not a fan of the pacifier, which sucks ‘cause I have like eighty of them.” Matt continued tiredly. She gestured to the bag. “Wanna get her out and feed her? I can make the bottle, but then I really,  _ really _ need a nap.”

 

Mello looked completely out of his element, but he’d never been accused of  _ not trying _ . Matt appreciated that. She made the bottle, tested it, and turned to find Mello sitting in the corner of the couch, carefully holding Kateri and staring at her. The baby was staring back, though her blue eyes hadn’t yet developed enough to see very far in front of her. Matt sat down next to Mello, their legs touching, and beckoned for him to hand her over.

 

“Lemme show you. It’s not that terrifying, I promise. Two n00bs will breeze right through this, you’ll see.” Matt said confidently. She cradled Kateri in one arm and held the bottle with the other-- as at the hospital, the baby was one-thousand-percent on board with food, and latched on happily. While the infant closed her eyes in what was probably sheer bliss, Mello finally spoke.

 

“She’s so  _ tiny. _ ”

 

“Looks pretty fae, doesn’t she? She’s got your hair,” Matt pointed out wryly, petting the downy, pale blonde tufts.

 

Mello looked too overwhelmed with awe and  _ feelings _ to speak, and pressed a kiss to Kateri’s head before doing the same to Matt. Matt felt pretty comfortably curling a little closer to Mello then, laying her head on his shoulder and sighing. This? This was worth protecting. This was worth  _ living _ for. There’d be time to discuss the everyone-gets-out-mostly-alive plan with him later. For now, she treasured the moment of peace.


	7. Chapter 7

_ “The abduction of police chief Yagami Light comes shortly after the death of his father, Yagami Soichiro. Yagami is also the head of the Kira Task Force, which has come under fire recently as support surges for Kira. The police have revealed Yagami was drugged and taken while grabbing lunch with his fiancee, Amane Misa. Amane was knocked out by the same gas that flooded the elevator, but left alone, and there are no signs of a struggle. Police are asking anyone with information to step forward immediately, and assure us they are working hard to rescue their leader. In the meantime…” _

 

_ The shot opened with a dazed Yagami Light squinting at the sudden light source as it moved to a spot with far less glare. His honey gold eyes narrowed at the person in front of him. _

 

_ “You?! Where am I?” _

 

_ “Hiding!” The person said cheerfully. There was a crinkling sound of a wrapper, then a snap. When they spoke again, it was muffled slightly and clear they were talking around the food in their mouth. “Going to see if I can torture the Kira confession out of you before your cronies find out where you are.” _

 

_ “For the last time, I’m not Kira!” Yagami said, the frustration clear. “I’ve been completely cleared of any and all suspicion! Multiple times! Even L says so, and I’m working with him!” _

 

_ “You killed L and while ago and have been impersonating him, actually,” the person pointed out, chewing. “I knew him and attended his burial, jackass. It’s not hard to fake it after that, because the general public definitely never saw him outside of a letter and modified voice.” _

 

_ “That’s complete nonsense!” _

 

_ “No, but you’re wondering why I’m monologuing. I had this really epic plan to bring you to true justice in the eyes of the law and everyone you know, but things change. So I decided to do the next best thing.” _

 

_ Yagami’s attention shifted rapidly to the source of some heavy metallic sounds. The other person continued conversationally as they sorted through what sounded like a variety of tools. “I’m going to make it very clear  _ why _ I’m going to do any of this, before ensuring that you can never do it to anyone ever again. If I’m lucky, I can do it before your Death God minion or other lackeys find you, and I’m pretty damn lucky. The Death God could take a while, though; we salted the hell --hah-- out of this place, put up some rosaries, prayed, holy water, the whole shebang. Any demons or shinigami are going to have a really tough time getting into this place. We also took the liberty of putting out a barrel of honeycrisp apples outside the place to keep ‘em occupied, as that was one of the first things you shared about them way back when. Had to import those, though.” _

 

_ “‘We?’” Yagami shook his head. “You’re crazy.” _

 

_ “You didn’t think all of the yakuza were blown sky high with me, did you?” The person taunted. A crinkling sound, and the chocolate bar wrapper was bounced off Yagami’s head. Yagami’s eye twitched. “Didn’t expect you to off your dad along with the rest, though. That was cold. Now your conscious is free of anything holding you back, huh, Kira?” _

 

_ “My team will come for me!” _

 

_ “No they won’t. Not in time.” _

 

_ “We have your name!” _

 

_ “Not a face, not anymore,” the other person pointed out reasonably. “It’s gotta be an accurate photo, according to L’s files, and you’re one of the few people to see even part of my face since the fire, so… not likely, huh?” _

 

_ “You--” Yagami cut himself off. The other person had been twirling a knife as they spoke, but now it clattered to the floor. They chuckled weakly. _

 

_ “Hah. Either your minions work pretty quick, or they had the SPK’s help,” they managed, dropping to the floor. Their breath was short as they continued. “But it’s not a wasted chance as long as you know someone else found you out. I wonder if you ever told L he was right? Or Watari? You’ll get what’s coming to you.” _

 

_ Yagami laughed. There was an almost jolly tone to it. “I told him as I held him in my arms when he died. Watari I missed, unfortunately. You can join them in dying a complete failure. As for what’s coming to me… godhood is going pretty well, I’d say.” _

 

_ There was a thump as the other person dropped to the floor, gasping. Behind Yagami, a door opened. Yagami stopped laughing. A short woman entered, a scarf and bright goggles covering most of her face and all of her hair. She ignored Yagami and passed him, kneeling on the floor and pulling out a syringe. After a moment, the other person’s breathing evened out, and the woman helped him to his feet. _

 

_ “Surprise! You’re on Candid Camera! By the time this is copied onto a USB stick and sent to the police via unmarked package, you’ll have been in here for two days,” the woman informed Yagami, before dealing a deft blow to the back of his head that knocked the man out entirely. “Don’t worry, we’ll leave the return address as this location. Have fun in prison, you fuckwit, and say hi to N for us!” _

 

_ The video ends. _

 

* * *

 

In a move that frustrated several to no end, when the SPK burst into a small suburban Japanese home they found it had been reduced to just a house. Every trace of technology, furniture, and infant supplies had disappeared. All that remained was a blank white puzzle in the middle of the floor. It was completed.

 

* * *

 

_ “The NPA has informed us that, regrettably, Yagami Light has been murdered in prison while awaiting trial for his self-admitted actions as Kira. Authorities are tight-lipped, but our sources suggest it was done by inmates as revenge for their cohorts’ deaths. The case has drawn all manner of attention, including almost nonstop commentary on media outlets and mainstream media alike, and even riots. One of those riots resulted in a clash between the pro- and anti-Kira groups, and several people were injured, including up and coming lawyer Mikami Teru. They are currently in critical condition, our sources say, but those who do survive are expected to need extensive physical and mental therapy to return to their former lives. _

 

_ “Former idol Amane Misa has requested privacy as she mourns the revelations surrounding her fiance as well as his death, but her agent has suggested that a return to the stage is not off the table in the future. _

 

_ “In related news, while the world is still reeling from the Kira World Order, officials have stated that they expect life to return to normal in many countries. Whether that means a return to higher crime rates has yet to be--” _

 

* * *

 

In Copenhagen, Matt shrugged off her jacket and toed off her boots, carefully avoiding the strewn toys as she made her way to the kitchenette. Depositing the reusable sacks on the counter, she glanced around before deciding to find them the old fashioned way-- never knew if Angua was sleeping.

 

Angua-- who had been codenamed for the werewolf after she took a shine to being awake all night any night the moon was visible, for no discernable reason-- was contentedly chewing on the top of a plastic spatula and nestled in her father’s lap. Said Mello was trying valiantly to finish reading the backstory casework for his latest mystery, but Matt honestly didn’t know what he’d expected if he’d chosen to sit on the living room floor to do so.

 

The constant stream of “dadadadada,” babble was interrupted by a “mu!” when Angua caught sight of Matt, and she gladly settled on the floor and scooped the baby up for a cuddle. “That was almost a ‘Mutti!’ You’re so sweet and smart,  _ schatzi _ . I saw you wigglin’ there. You gonna crawl or talk first, Angua?”

 

“She had lots of insightful commentary when it came to the victim descriptions, and thinks there’s a clear lead there that the idiot detectives at the station missed,” Mello informed her, stretching out his legs before leaning in to give Matt a peck on the lips. “I agree, but she needs to talk unless she wants to drag us around as translators all the time.”

 

“Ah.” Almost four months after the explosion, Mello’s body had completely healed. The scars certainly weren’t going away, including the giant one covering half his face, but it was all whole skin tissue, now. He’d let his hair grow out to cover the scarring, but at home baby-hair-pulling made tying it in a loose ponytail a necessity. Matt rather thought that being technically on-the-lam was more relaxing for him than being the head mafioso and clashing with Near, and that had contributed toward the uptick in health. It hadn’t taken much to synthesize a near heart attack when they actually did confront Yagami, and even after Matt administered the antidote it had been touch and go for a few days. By the time they’d arrived in Denmark(after a few false trails to other countries and continents had been laid), he’d been chomping at the bit to go out and  _ do _ something. It was of exactly zero surprise when Mello had been found one day with multiple files of cold cases and active mysteries spread out over the large kitchen table, making notes and solving half of them in one pent-up go.

 

Matt had her own ways of coping with the vaguely antsy feeling. Angua was very content to sit in her lap and chew on a broken PS3 controller while her mother gamed with a (working) controller of her own. She was gonna be great at quick-time events, judging by the concentration involved in button pushing.

 

“How long should we let Near stew in this Kira cleanup mess?” Matt asked. Angua let go of the bottle’s nipple and gave a sweet smile up at her parent. Combined with her hair, which had grown longer and slightly curlier but hadn’t darkened a whit, she’d maintained the fae look very nicely. “We’re gonna run out of cases and need to poke around for more a little louder eventually.” And with the distinct  _ lack _ of it, Matt had come to really miss her conversations with Halle.

 

Mello shrugged. “I give it a year. Maybe two.” He reached over and tickled Angua’s bare feet, elicting a giggle and squirm from the tiny human. “Then  _ somebody _ will have to pony up so many belated presents, huh? Maybe even an actual pony.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Schatzi - little treasure, a petname  
> Mutti - mother, casual German
> 
> I can see Whammy kids mixing up their language pretty carelessly, with the sheer amount they learn. Angua’s gonna have plenty of variety in her nicknames.

**Author's Note:**

> A kudos would be awesome for encouraging me to keep writing and posting!


End file.
